WASHINGTON – Gregory Cheadle, a Redding real estate broker studying for the bar exam, was standing 300 feet from the podium on the west lawn of the U.S. Capitol when Donald Trump took the oath to become the nation’s 45th president.

“It’s an exhilarating feeling to see history in the making and to feel the crowd’s exuberance and enthusiasm,” the man Trump called “my African American” at a Redding campaign rally last year said after hearing the president's inaugural address

Trump told the throng of tens of thousands braving a light rain and temperatures in the 40s that “when you open your heart to patriotism, there’s no room for prejudice,” and Cheadle, 60, said that line “really resonated with me.”

“As divided as the nation has been the last few years, we have to be united; there’s no two ways about it.”

Californians in the crowd reacted to the new president and those protesting his ascendency on Friday with a variety of sensations, from awe and inspiration to sentiments bordering on contempt.

In Section 16, on the south side of the west lawn about 150 yards from the podium, the crowd gathered beneath the scattered sycamores was respectful and quiet until the giant video screens showed the president-elect and his cabinet nominees arriving on the east side of the Capitol. When the crowd assembled on the National Mall could see him directly, most went wild.

Trump’s speech was preceded by remarks from Sen. Roy Blunt, R-Mo., chairman of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, and Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., who was booed when he said both immigrants and native born were devoted to the country. Religious leaders also spoke briefly.

Kate O’Brien, a CPA from Camarillo, and her 14-year-old daughter Regina, were in the first ticketed area behind the Reflecting Pool. She said she was impressed by the pomp and dignity of the proceedings, and the ecumenical nature of the speeches and prayers, which she said “captured the mood of the people.”

“I feel like we’ve got somebody who’ll get something done,” she said.

There were protests in the crowd, including a Code Pink anti-war protester in what’s becoming a popular pink stocking cap with cat ears — a symbol of resistance to Trump’s message — but they were shouted down with chants of “U.S.A.” and “Trump. Trump. Trump,” and didn’t derail the proceedings

About 75 of the 100 Dream Academy students from Salinas decided to get out on the mall but they arrived late, just in time to hear the last lines of the inaugural address. Some of the students have Mexican immigrant farmworker parents and were not eager to celebrate the man who has disparaged them, organizer Ruben Pizarro said.

“The most powerful moment for our kids was when Obama got in the helicopter and left,” he said. “People were literally sobbing, consoling each other. It was kind of surreal that Donald Trump had won. The anger and fear were so front-and-center after the election for them and all those emotions flooded back.”

Rosalie Ultreras, 16, a student at Alisal High School making her first visit to the nation’s capital, acknowledged those emotions. “We were saying goodbye to someone who did so much good for our country,” she said. What got her attention were protesters and one banner reading “Oppression is not freedom,” which she said she “connected with.”

Joe and Mona Neyer of Visalia, who publish a monthly magazine devoted to new and used farm equipment sales, were about 100 yards from the podium and liked what Trump said. Neyer said Trump’s message was “‘the old way we’ve been doing things is over and now it’s a new day,’ and that sounded good to me. We’ve been going in the wrong direction for eight years, maybe more.”

Neyer also commented on what he saw on the large video screen, saying Hillary Clinton “didn’t seem too happy;” that Obama looked “dejected” during Trump’s speech; and that the boos during Schumer’s speech are an indication ”he’s going to be the main opponent for Trump.”

“We could have seen the same thing on TV, but it’s not the same thing,” he said of being part of the crowd.

Millville attorney Doug Wright, 42, and his wife Heather, 41, could see Trump’s characteristic hand gestures from their spot, an estimated 300 yards from the podium, but also relied on the projected images to follow the action.

“It was very humbling to be there. There was so much positive energy; it was just electric,” he said. And he found like-minded people in the crowd from Florida and Boston with whom he exchanged business cards.

Heather Wright added: “I thought it was very dynamic. ... He pointed out where we’ve gone wrong and how we’re going to fix it.” When she told people she was from Northern California, much of which has a reputation for being politically liberal, people told her “Oh, we’re so sorry” and “you poor thing,” she said.

Redding lawyer Art Morgan, 65, and his wife Debra, 59, were also in a standing-room section, “shoulder-to-shoulder; you couldn’t even move” during the event.

Despite the rain, he said, “on a scale of one to 10, this was about a 14. ... It’s the people’s United States, not the government’s. He (Trump) has made a lot of promises and commitments but that’s great. Think big.”

Sixty students from across Southern California, including some from the Opportunities for Learning public charter schools in Oxnard and Simi Valley, were way back in the non-ticketed section and displayed “mixed emotions” about the day’s events, said social science teacher Aimee Brown. Many of the students are from diverse backgrounds, she said “and weren’t sure what to make of today,” she said.

“I think they were pleasantly surprised by what he said, if a little apprehensive,” she added.

She said the group will probably watch the Women’s March on Saturday but won’t be participating.

Andrea Cady, 17, of the Opportunities for Learning in Simi Valley, said the group, all in matching, waterproof jackets, were out early and were dancing and singing to stay awake.

Fond of neither Trump nor Clinton, Cady said she’d keep an open mind. “He had a lot of good things to say,” she said. “We’ll see what’s going to happen.”

Taiz Gutierrez, 16, of the Oxnard Opportunities for Learning, said she expected a bigger crowd. Officially “neutral” on Trump, she said of the speech: “It was better than what I expected.”

Kathy Lowery, who runs the bicycle lane program for the city of Thousand Oaks, attended with a high school friend from Delaware and was also near the Reflecting Pool. One takeaway for her from a generally positive experience was the unruliness of the crowd, which she said talked over speakers and booed when Hillary Clinton appeared on the platform.

“They were obnoxious,” she said. “It’s not a rally; it’s an inauguration.”

She said she’s staying in a house overnight with 20 other visiting guests to be in Saturday’s Women’s March.